Severe storm strikes southeast Queensland

Southeast Queenslanders are assessing the damage after the region was hit by severe thunderstorms for the second time on Saturday.

The Bureau of Meteorology cancelled its severe thunderstorm warning about 10.35pm on Saturday after a series of storms left a trail of damage across the southeast.

Weatherzone: Brisbane storm tracker

Shortly before 10.30pm, Energex reported more than 20,000 lightning strikes had been recorded in southeast Queensland since 7pm.

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And almost 30,000 customers were without power at 10.50pm, with Brisbane residents the hardest hit.

As the clean-up continues, Emergency Management Queensland urged residents to beware of fallen powerlines and trees, avoid walking, riding or driving through floods and contact the State Emergency Service on 132 500 if they need urgent assistance.

Hours after Brisbane was plunged into near-darkness by a major storm with driving rain and high winds, another severe thunderstorm warning was issued for parts of southeast Queensland, including Brisbane.

By about 9pm, State Emergency Service workers had received 62 requests for help in Brisbane, and 31 in regional areas, most southwest of Brisbane.

A representative of the service said the fallout of the storms hadn't been quite as severe as anticipated across the state, although high winds in Brisbane and golf ball-size hail in Pittsworth had the potential to be particularly damaging.

As Brisbane was bucketed by 10mm of rain in only 10 minutes, there were more than 11,000 lightning strikes across southeast Queensland and winds gusts reached 90 km/h, according to Energex.

About 11,000 homes and businesses in Brisbane, Ipswich and in the Somerset area lost power, with more than 100 fallen power lines reported across southeast Queensland.

There were ‘‘major delays’’ on all train lines as a result of power outages.

The Queensland State Emergency Service responded to more than 60 pleas for help, mostly from Brisbane residents asking for assistance with leaking roofs and fallen trees.

In Ann Street in the CBD, a hotel ceiling collapsed.

‘‘It turned day into night,’’ an SES worker said of the storm.

‘‘It came quickly and then it left.’’

Energex said with 100 crews out responding to calls, it had restored power to the majority of homes and business affected by outages by 3 pm.

By 6.30pm about 300 homes remained without power, with the majority of the outages continuing in the Algester area south of Brisbane.

An Energex spokeswoman said they were unsure as to when power would be returned to the area as the repairs were ‘‘complicated’’.

‘‘We are working through the problems and doing it as quickly as we can,’’ she said.

In Ipswich, a small grass fire was sparked when lightning struck a crane next to the city’s hospital just after 10am but the incoming rain extinguished it, a Department of Community Services (DCS) spokeswoman said.

The Bureau of Meterology said severe thunderstorms were also likely to produce damaging winds over the next few hours in parts of the Northern Goldfields and Upper Flinders, Central Highlands and Coalfields, Central West and Maranoa and Warrego districts.

1.40PM: Brisbane was bucketed by 10mm of rain in only 10 minutes with winds gusting up to 70km/h during today’s severe thunderstorm, according to Rob Sharpe from Weatherzone.

‘‘The airport was even harder hit with 14mm of rain in 10 minutes and winds gusting to 85km/h,’’ he writes.

The mercury plunged seven degrees in 10 minutes as a result of the thunderstorm, with more than 4000 lightning strikes within 80km of Brisbane is less than two hours.

Severe thunderstorms remain a risk for Brisbane this afternoon.

1.25PM: The wild weather has caused flash flooding and uprooted trees across the Brisbane.

The Department of Community Safety has received 60 requests for help from residents in southeast Queensland, including 45 from the inner Brisbane area.

A spokeswoman said residents were seeking the State Emergency Service’s help with leaking roofs and fixing tarpaulins.

Emergency crews were also responding to two cases of collapsed ceilings - one in a building in Peel Street, South Brisbane and another at a hotel in Ann Street, in Brisbane’s CBD.

On the corner of Herschel and Roma streets, half of an 8m by 8m glass window has fallen on to the road and firefighters are on the scene.

1.21PM: Peta Tilse emailed to say that she and her son narrowly missed being hit by a tree in Lamington Street, New Farm that had been condemned by the local council and designated for removal in another three weeks.

"This tree came down in front of me and my son. Narrowly missed the car in front and us," she writes.

"Thankfully no one was parked in front. Other sign has been there to say the council knows the tree is sick and was going to remove in 21 days!"

51 comments so far

If I was not an Agnostic Atheist, I would say there's a message here...

Sydney next? (Melbs, you are safe... :-)

Commenter

Hanging Judge Jeffries

Location

Wirruppa Hill - Central VIC

Date and time

November 17, 2012, 7:13PM

I don't think you can be both agnostic and atheist.An agnostic demands proof and an atheist doesn't.

Commenter

Wilf

Date and time

November 17, 2012, 9:22PM

the term "Brisvegas" is laughable. whilst I love QLD's natural beauty,Brisbane is BORING. hardly worth any comparison to Las Vegas.what a joke.

Commenter

C

Date and time

November 17, 2012, 11:26PM

Wilf... This explains it...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnostic_atheism

Commenter

Hanging Judge Jeffries

Date and time

November 17, 2012, 11:28PM

C....I haven't been there since the late '70s.

If you think it's boring now, imagine it then...

Commenter

Hanging Judge Jeffries

Date and time

November 17, 2012, 11:35PM

@C. The term Brisvegas is very much tongue in cheek. No person applies with any seriousness. You must live under a rock.

Commenter

Oxen

Location

Sydney

Date and time

November 17, 2012, 11:48PM

"BrisVegas" is a term for Brisbane when it is having delusions of grandeur. Thinking it is a "world city", which it isn't. Thankfully.

Commenter

pj

Location

Wherever

Date and time

November 18, 2012, 6:49AM

@C

I don't think the term refers to the "excitement" level of either city, I reckon it was coined, tongue in cheek, to describe the paucity of intellectual input and output ;-)

Commenter

DenisPC9

Location

New England Region

Date and time

November 18, 2012, 7:09AM

Mate I wish Lightning would detroy the huge mango tree and the massive jacaranda in my oldies yard. This is my 1st summer in Briserlaide for 25 years and its not disappointing. At least when the storms hit it stays hot. Not like my old place at Maroubra where the storms would hit and I would freeze my jatz crackers off.